Three Days
by monicawoe
Summary: What if Dean had only gotten three days instead of a year?
1. Dean

Dean opens his eyes and closes them again. It's bright. It's too damn bright. He covers his eyes with his hand and tries to open them again. He sees a sliver of light, sky blue and he blinks over and over, waiting for the image to change.

He can't be seeing the sky- not really. It has to be a trick. It has to be, but...Alistair said _'No more tricks.'_ It was the last thing he'd said before- Dean pinches the bridge of his nose and tries to remember, but he _can't_. He was in Hell. He should be remembering Hell, but there's _nothing_. There was a name, a few seconds ago, but it's gone now.

Dean sits up and looks around. He's surrounded by dozens of felled trees. He stands up slowly and looks down at the dirt he was lying in. There's a plain, wooden cross. There's a noise from behind him, ruffling wings, and Dean whips around.

"Hello, Dean." says the man.

Dean stares at the stranger and feels ice run down his spine. He's cold, he's _so_ cold, and he hasn't been cold in a long, long time.

"Who are you?" Dean asks.

"I'm an angel."

"An angel, right." Dean scoffs.

"My name is Lucifer."

* * *

><p>"Stop following me." Dean snaps.<p>

"Dean. I'm telling you the truth. I wouldn't lie to you." Lucifer says again.

Dean stops and turns around, "Right, so- not only are you an _angel_ but you're friggin' _Lucifer_?" Dean shakes his head, "At least think of something original, man. I mean, come on, you really expect me to believe the _Devil_ looks like some average-" Dean gestures at Lucifer "soccer-Dad, or whatever you are?"

Lucifer looks down at himself and frowns, "Yes...this is...less than satisfactory. This isn't who I'm supposed to be. That's why you're here Dean, that's why I raised you."

"You-" Dean swallows, "you what?"

"Let's go see your brother." Lucifer says, patting Dean on the shoulder.

* * *

><p>Dean feels dizzy, and he can't see. Wherever he is now, it's dark. He blinks as his eyes slowly adjust, and he looks at his new surroundings. The walls around him are covered in sigils and wards, but Dean only recognizes a handful of them. Most of the windows have been boarded up, but there's a weak sliver of sunlight coming in through a window in the back. There are voices nearby. Dean walks towards them, until he can make out what's being said.<p>

"...you weren't supposed to bring him _here_." Sam says

"You said you wanted to see for yourself. You wanted to be sure he didn't remember, right?" Lucifer sighs.

Sam makes a low growling noise, "I don't want him to see me like this."

"Well look who's self-conscious all of a sudden." Lucifer laughs, "What was your plan then? Were you- you weren't going to try to take a look _yourself_, were you? Like you did last week with those three-"

"Those were demons, " Sam snaps, "and I was was angry."

Lucifer laughs again, "You sure were. There was barely anything left to clean up. You can try that trick again on Alistair- I tucked him away for you, just like you asked."

"Who's Alistair?" Dean asks, as he enters the room. It stinks of sulfur, and Dean looks around in the faint light until he sees two silhouettes standing a few feet away. "Sammy?" Dean says, and steps through the doorway.

"Dean." Sam says, and takes a step back.

Lucifer walks forward and smiles at Dean, "Your brother's happy to see you, Dean. He's just upset he didn't have time to tidy up." Lucifer moves past Dean and back into the front room, "I'll give you two a few minutes to catch up."

Dean walks further into the dark room and heads towards the far wall. "Sammy?" he says again.

"Hey Dean." Sam says, softly. He takes a few steps forward, and then, moving quickly, closes the rest of the distance between them and grabs Dean in a rib-crushing hug.

Dean pats Sam's back and has a weird moment where he realizes that Sam's not even a little bit scrawny anymore. Dean doesn't know how long he's been gone, but Sam feels like he spent at least a year or two doing push-ups.

Sam lets go and steps backwards again, into the dark. He smiles, but it's all sorrow, "What do you remember?"

"I remember shooting that yellow-eyed son of a bitch. I remember telling you I had four and a half hours left before my deal came due." Dean stops and licks his lips, "I remember you punching me and..."

"...and then the Hellhounds took you." Sam says, looking down at his feet. "I watched them tear you to pieces. I couldn't do a damn thing to stop it." Sam looks back up at Dean. "What happened after that?"

"I- I was in Hell..." Dean tries to meet Sam's eyes, but it's too damn dark to see them, "but I don't...I don't remember anything. I just remember this light and then I woke up in the middle of nowhere, with some dude telling me he's Lucifer."

Sam breathes a sigh of relief, and then takes a deep breath. He walks toward the door, stops next to Dean and says "I'm glad you're okay." Sam turns towards Dean and Dean looks into his brother's black eyes.

Dean stumbles back and spits out, "Christo!"

Sam doesn't flinch, he just looks back at him, sadly, and says, "I'm sorry. I'm so sorry for everything, but...at least I did this. I got you _out_...and I'll keep you safe. I promise."

There's a slow, clapping noise from behind them. "That was beautiful, Sam. Very moving." Lucifer says, "Now, I held up my end of the bargain. Let's get to yours."

"Sammy?" Dean asks, and his gut feels like it's filled with lead. There's a horrible sound that brings Dean to his knees. He covers his ears in pain as everything around them fills with a terrible light.

"Sam," Lucifer says, "That's Michael. I told you we wouldn't have a lot of time. We have to hurry. You want to keep Dean safe, don't you?"

Sam nods, looks at Dean and smiles again. Then he turns towards Lucifer, and says, "Yes."


	2. Sam

"How long did you get?" Sam asks

Dean looks down, "Three days."

"Three-" Sam bites his tongue to keep from screaming.

Dean puts his hand on Sam's shoulder. Sam takes a step back and says, "You shouldn't have done that." Then he turns his back to Dean.

"Sammy..."

Sam whips around and punches Dean's cheek, hard. "How could you do that?"

"Don't get mad at me! I had to!" Dean says, wiping the blood from his mouth.

Four hours and twenty seven minutes later, when Sam is cradling Dean's head in his arm and trying not to look at the blood pouring out of the deep gashes on Dean's chest, Dean looks Sam in the eyes one last time, and says, "I had to."

* * *

><p>Sam can't feel his legs. He's been kneeling here, in the dirt, since before the sun went down. He's clutching an empty bottle of whiskey in his left hand. He scratches absently at the soil under his right hand and wonders if he should dig the box back out and recheck the contents again.<p>

The crossroads demon should have been here by now. Sam screamed himself hoarse hours ago, and his tears have dried- crusting on his cheeks, making his skin feel too tight. His knees throb with pain as he unbends his legs and stands up. As he turns around, wavering only slightly, he thinks he sees something out of the corner of his eye. When he turns back to stare at the the center of the crossroads, there's a small, neat hole in the ground.

"Here, Sam. Nobody's coming. You should take this back."

Sam turns back and sees a blonde woman standing in front of him, holding the small metal box he buried. "Who the hell are you?" Sam says, his vocal chords aching in protest.

"I'm here to help you."

Sam laughs bitterly and looks her in the eyes, "Can you help me get my brother out?"

* * *

><p>"Sam! Come on- concentrate! You can do this!"<p>

Sam screams and lets his hand drop down again, "No, I _can't_. It fucking _hurts_, Ruby."

Ruby scoffs, "You know what else hurts, Sam? Hell. How much pain do you think Dean is in right now?"

Sam glares at Ruby, and wipes the trickle of blood from his nose. "Shut your mouth."

The demon tied to the chair in the center of the room starts laughing, "This is just sad. Lilith was right about you, Sam. You're _nothing_."

"Who's Lilith?" Sam asks.

Ruby grabs Sam's wrist, "Sam-"

Sam raises his hand towards the demon and squeezes it shut slowly. "Who is Lilith?"

The demon gasps and starts to choke.

* * *

><p>A year after Dean dies- one year <em>exactly<em>, Sam comes back 'home' to find someone else in Ruby's body.

"Sam." Lilith whispers, as she pins him against the wall with her hand. Her milky-white eyes reflect Sam's own, terrified face back at him. "Ruby's been such a bad, bad girl."

"What did you do to her?" Sam asks.

"I sent her back where she belongs. Close enough to your brother to hear his screams." Lilith laughs, "Do you want me to tell you what he's screaming for, right _now_?"

Sam's anger cuts through his fear and he feels Lilith's hold on him weaken. "Give me my brother back." Sam says, as he pries Lilith's hand from his throat, forcing her arm down.

"Why would I do that, Sam?"

"Because if you don't, I'll kill you."

Lilith smirks, "Please. You think that little butter knife Ruby gave you works on someone like me?" She takes a few steps back and spreads her arms out wide. "Give me your best shot."

Sam lunges forward, stabs Lilith in the throat and watches her black smoke pour out of the eyes and mouth, laughing. Sam pulls Ruby's knife back out and squeezes his eyes shut as Lilith's blood splatters on his face.

* * *

><p>"Please." Sam says again.<p>

"No. Sam- you don't want to know. _Trust_ me." Ruby hangs her head, blocking her face with her long, dark hair.

""Ruby...tell me. _Now._" Sam shifts on the couch, turning to face her.

"Alistair. His name is Alistair. He's Hell's _best_ torturer, Sam." Ruby says softly.

Sam nods, "And...he's the only one?"

"Lilith won't let anybody else near him." Ruby's mouth twitches for just a second. "Others have tried to get close. They practically stormed the gates."

Sam turns and stares at Ruby. "What aren't you telling me?"

Ruby's eyes flick up to Sam's, "What do you mean? What else do you want to know?"

"You're _hiding_ something."

"It's Hell, Sam! I'm not gonna tell you every gory detail! That'd be cruel!" Ruby snaps. She stands up, turns her back on Sam and walks over to the little table on the other side of the room.

"Ruby..." Sam says, "what do you think would happen to me if I drank demon blood?"

Ruby turns around and stares at Sam, "Why the hell would you ask me that?"

Sam gets off the couch, walks over to Ruby and puts his hand on her shoulder. "The night that Lilith stopped by for a visit- I stabbed her before she got away."

Ruby swallows, "You're lucky she didn't kill you."

"Yeah, " Sam laughs, "you know, I thought the same thing at first- and then I tasted her blood in my mouth." Sam shakes his head, "I thought maybe it was mine, but...then the weirdest thing happened."

"What's that?"

"I could hear you. Just for a split second, but I could've sworn I heard you _laughing_."

"That's crazy. You probably just heard Lilith!"

"No, I'm sure. I can tell you apart. You taught me that, remember?" Sam puts his hand under Ruby's chin and leans down, bringing their foreheads together. "Tell me what's going on, Ruby. Tell me what's _really_ going on."

* * *

><p>Ruby dies in Sam's arms exactly twelve hours before Lilith does.<p>

Sam didn't mean to kill Ruby, not really. Ruby had found a demon, someone close to Lilith. Sam yanked Lilith's plans out of her mind in thirty seconds flat, but he hurt the host in the process. She wouldn't stop screaming. The demon wouldn't either. There was just so much noise, and he just wanted it to stop. He slit her throat and drank her down. The screaming stopped, and Sam drank until Ruby pulled him off of the empty corpse. The thing was, Sam had seen the demon's thoughts. He knew _exactly_ how powerful Lilith was now, and he needed to be sure he could kill her. He needed to be _sure._ Ruby was close, and he needed to be _sure_.

Sam walks into the convent and all twelve of Lilith's guards fall to their knees as he walks by them.

Lilith waits for Sam by the altar and hands him a chalice full of blood.

* * *

><p>Lucifer's light fills the convent and Sam's eyes and ears feel like they're being torn apart, but he still hears, he still sees.<p>

The Morningstar looks at his Vessel, covered head to toe in the blood of his First, and smiles solar flares. "Sam. Thank you." he says, and his Vessel nods.

Sam looks into the light and says, "Get my brother out."


	3. Lucifer

His Vessel has just one demand. Dean returned to life, as he was- whole in body, mind and soul. That's the catch of course. Lucifer can raise anyone from Hell. Hell is his kingdom. That's just it though- Hell is _Lucifer's_ kingdom. By his own design, humans change in Hell. They become demons. There is no reversing that process.

"Then I'll never say yes." Sam says, and closes his eyes again.

"Sam- I didn't say it was impossible, just _difficult_. It will take some time." Lucifer sighs, "I want you to be happy."

Sam laughs bitterly, "Yeah, I bet."

Lucifer walks closer to where Sam is sitting, huddled in the corner of the small, abandoned apartment they've been staying in. He's coherent for now, but it won't last for long. Sam hasn't touched a drop of demon blood since he freed Lucifer and his body is going through massive withdrawal. "Why are you doing this to yourself? You don't have to suffer."

"Of course I do." Sam says, "I doomed the world."

"Don't be so melodramatic." Lucifer opens the blinds hanging from the window across from Sam.

Sam puts his arm up to block the light.

Lucifer leans down and peers at Sam, "You know...it might just be a trick of the light, but...it almost looks like your eyes are back to normal."

That gets Sam's attention. He scrambles to his knees, stands and stumbles towards the bathroom.

Lucifer smirks when twenty seconds later he hears the mirror being shattered. "Sam. After everything you've done, you really think you get to go back to being human?"

Sam walks past him and goes back to sit in his corner, resolutely not looking at the blood dripping from his knuckles.

* * *

><p>"I can bring Dean back, just like you asked." Lucifer announces.<p>

Sam stares at him. His eyes are glassy and his skin is covered in a fine sheen of cold sweat.

"But this..." Lucifer gestures at Sam, "this has to stop. This isn't just some infection you can get over, Sam. Your body..._my_ body needs demon blood. So, since you're being less than cooperative..." Lucifer opens the door and lets their guests in.

Six demons enter, their heads bowed respectfully. They spread throughout the room and stand against the walls on either side, waiting. An old man in a wheelchair follows them in and smiles a yellow-teethed smile at Sam.

"Sam, I'd like you to meet Famine." Lucifer says, "I'm going to go take care of some things. I'll be back in a few hours- play nice!"

* * *

><p>When Lucifer returns, three hours later, Sam is latched onto the neck of the last of the six demons. The other five are dead- their throats, arms and hands covered in blood.<p>

Famine is watching Sam with something like admiration. He turns to Lucifer and says, "What a sweet little boy."

"Your brothers are waiting for you." Lucifer says and opens the door, stepping aside so Famine can pass.

Once the Horseman has left, Lucifer crosses to the other side of the room and sits down next to Sam. " As soon as I raise Dean, Michael will come for him. We need to be ready."

Sam makes a low, growling noise but doesn't let go of the demon he's holding.

"You'll thank me for this later, Sam. You need to be strong. _We_ need to be strong."

* * *

><p>"You're a fool. You're an arrogant, petty child." Death says angrily.<p>

Lucifer nods, and says softly, "And yet...I'm the one holding the leash." Pointing down at the unremarkable grave where his Vessel's brother is buried, he adds, "This wall you're going to put up in Dean's mind. How long will it last?"

"Not long. A few weeks, at best."

"Long enough. Sam just needs to be convinced Dean is okay."

Death chuckles, "What about when he finds out you've tricked him? What do you think he'll do then?"

Lucifer laughs, "Does it matter? He won't be able to do anything. Not a _damn_ thing." Lucifer kneels on the ground by the plain little cross, sticks his hand into the soil, and reaches down until he finds Dean.


End file.
